What Sakura found out
by I-Heart-Hatake-Kakashi
Summary: NejiTen REVISED
1. What Sakura Found Out

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**WHAT SAKURA FOUND OUT**

* * *

The pink haired med-nin picked up the manila folder. In bold black letters she read the name on the tab: **Tenten**. Sakura knew she shouldn't look into the file, there was the whole confidentiality thing to consider, after all.

'_I am not going to look!'_ The pink haired kunoichi firmly told herself.

_'You know you want to! _' Sakura's inner voice betrayed her curiosity.

'_No, I can't! This would be a huge betrayal of confidence. Tenten is my friend._ Sakura put the manila folder back on the desk in front of her.

_'But...'_ Sakura hesistated. _'Tenten is my friend, and I should know if something is wrong with her!_'

Sakura inched her hand closer toward the folder_. But what if Tsunade finds out?_ She hesitated again.

_'Well...'_ Sakura took hold of the folder. _'Technically it is part of my job to know these things...'_ she rationalized

_'Ok… I'll look…_' Picking up the folder, the medic nin carefully began opening the small folder. '_Umm… no, never mind…_' She changed her mind, returning the folder to it's previous location, at the edge of the desk.

_'Oops…'_ The manila folder accidentally fell from the top of the stack that Sakura had been filing. It fell open.

'_...well, I should really pick that up…'_ Sakura nonchallantly stated, as she leaned down to pick up the fallen folder. "Oh.My.Gawd…" (**1**)

* * *

"That's a stupid idea dobe." Groaned the raven haired Uchiha.

"You're just saying that because you know you can't do it Sasuke-teme." Naruto exclaimed.

"Shut up dobe!" Sasuke replied.

"I think it'd be fun, I'm in!" exclaimed Kiba

"YOSH! ME TOO!" yelled Lee.

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.

"So is everyone in?" asked Naruto

"Hai," came the unanimous agreement from Kiba, Lee, and Choji. Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke remained silent, but even they agreed to the ridiculous proposition made by the blond haired loudmouth.

"This is going to be troublesome." Sighed Shikamaru.

"So whose going to be who?" Choji asked (**2**).

So it was agreed between the 8 boys that they would switch places. The rules of the game where simple, they'd each transform into another and pretend to be that person; who ever stayed in character the longest won the game, and got to lord it over the others. To make it a little difficult, Shikamaru suggested that the person they each played, could not be someone from their own team, since that would give anyone playing the part of such a close friend an unfair advantage over the others. Secretly, Shikamaru deduced that if certain people switched personalities, the other's might make each other look like baka's and didn't want to make this 'game' any more troublesome then it already seemed it was going to be. Thus it was decided, using Henge no Jutsu (transformation jutsu) Shikamaru would switch places with Kiba, Sasuke with Choji, Shino with Lee, and Neji with Naruto. (**3**)

* * *

"Ino, I have to tell you something!" exclaimed the flushed Kunoichi as rushed into the empty flower shop her best friend's family owned.

"What's wrong Sakura?" inquired the blond Kunoichi.

"You will NEVER believe what I just found out!" exclaimed Sakura.

"What?!" asked a very excited Ino. She was after all, the village's queen of gossip. Though she was a little annoyed that Sakura had stumbled upon something obviously very juicy before her, Ino considered gossip as gossip; even if she wasn't the first to know.

"Oh.My.Gawd. wait 'til you hear what I found out about our dear friend Tenten…"

* * *

"Akamaru, you're going to give me away," growled 'Shikamaru,' as an oversized 'puppy' tried to tackle the lazy-nin wannabe.

* * *

"Does she know?" a stunned Ino asked her pink haired bestfriend.

"No, I don't think so, she just came in for her yearly checkup and it showed up in her blood work." replied Sakura.

"I didn't even know she was seeing anyone." Ino stated.

"Neither did I. I can't believe it!" nodded Sakura.

"Wasn't she on a mission two months ago?" asked Ino.

"Yeah… You don't think?..." began Sakura.

"…that something happened during the mission?" finished the blond Kunoichi.

* * *

"H-Hi Tenten-san." Hinata greeted her friend. She had really been working on that stutter, but every so often it still crept up on her.

"Hi Hinata." said a smiling Tenten, "how are you today?"

"I'm good, thank you. How are you Tenten-san?" asked Hinata.

"Not so good, I've been feeling a little sick, but I'm sure it's just a bug." replied Tenten.

"O-oh. Well soup is said to be good for you when you're feeling sick. Would you like to go to Ichiraku with me?" asked Hinata

"hehehe, you just want to go see Naruto-_kun_ don't you?" teased Tenten. She saw her friend's face turn bright red, and then smiled. "But, I am kind of hungry, so… sure!"

* * *

"Where do you think she might be?" asked Ino.

"Probably training." stated the pink haired Kunoichi.

"This late at night?!" exclaimed her blond friend.

"Are you kidding? Her and Neji-san are always training long before sunrise, and they usual stop around midnight; believe me, if she's anywhere, she's training." exclaimed Sakura.

"You know what, I thought I saw Neji's fan-girls headed towards Ichiraku earlier." stated Ino.

"So?" asked Sakura.

"Maybe Neji-san and Tenten decided to take a break and eat dinner?" Ino thought out loud.

"I don't know. It doesn't really sound like Neji-san." observed Sakura.

* * *

At the Ichiraku, Hinata and Tenten were ordering their ramen. Much to Hinata's disappointment, Naruto was nowhere to be found, but at least she had good company with Tenten.

"Ano, Tenten-san… how was you last mission?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, it went well, not that hard, but Lee got a little carried away and ended tripping the security system, so we had to fight our way out. But it was fine, we hadn't had much action lately, so it was good." Tenten replied between bites of ramen.

Just then Sakura and Ino walked up to the two girls sitting at the Ichiraku.

"Tenten, Hinata!" yelled Sakura.

"Oh, hi Sakura-san, Ino-san." Waved Hinata.

"Hey." replied Tenten as she finished off her bowl of ramen, "what are you girls doing here?"

"Tenten, we've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed a very anxious Ino.

"Oh?" inquired Tenten, "why's that?"

"Umm… well… we sort of have something to tell you." stammered Ino uncharacteristically. "Tell her Sakura!" the blond Kunoichi said, as she pushed her friend towards Tenten.

"Well… umm… Tenten…." Sakura began.

"Spit it out already!" an annoyed Tenten exclaimed.

"Well you see… you know that physical you went for the other day?" Sakura started.

"Yeah?..." replied Tenten.

"Well…"

* * *

Just then, the boys, still under the Henge no Jutsu (transformation jutsu) started making their way towards everyone's favorite ramen stand.

"This has been a long day." sighed a rather lively (or livelier then usual) Shikamaru.

"YOU! This is all your fault!" Tenten yelled at a very shocked looking 'Neji' (**4**) "I told you that doing that in a temple would curse us… but nooooo… mister 'I'm too cool to believe in curses'… AHHHH…" screamed a very fuming Tenten as she grabbed 'Neji' by the collar and dragged him away from the group.

"What was that all about?" asked 'Kiba' lazily.

"Ano… sorry Kiba-kun, b-but we can't say." stuttered Hinata.

* * *

Seconds later, an ear piercing scream was heard through Konoha, followed by a wild looking Naruto rushing toward the group in front of the Ichiraku.

"I quit!..." yelled Naruto as he barely dodged dozens of sharp pointy projectiles.

"Ok, seriously now, what's going on?" asked a very anxious 'Naruto,' assuming his own identity back, since the real Naruto had already broken their cover. At that, all the boy transformed back into their real selves, much to the three girl's shock.

"What?!" was the unanimous cry from the three girls.

"We'll tell you later." answered Kiba

"Troublesome" mumbled Shikamaru.

Just then, Tenten rushed out from within the trees, ready to throw another round of shuriken at Naruto, but Neji quickly stepped in front of her and grabbed hold of her wrist.

"What is going on Tenten?" Neji asked in his usual cold manner.

"YES, OUR BEAUTIFUL FLOWER, WHAT HAS GOT YOUR YOUTH SO FIRED UP?" explained Lee. (**5**).

"She's crazy! That's what's wrong… she took me to the forest to tell me she was pregnant… I don't know why… and then when I didn't say anything, because I was so shocked, she got angry and started throwing kunia and shuriken and all sorts of other weapons at me." yelled Naruto, who was cowering behind Sakura.

At this revelation, all the boy's mouths dropped in shock.

"Is that all?" said an emotionless Hyuga.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'?" yelled Tenten, Sakura, and Ino. (**6**).

"Hn." was the stoic Hyuga's only reply.

"Nejiiiiii." screeched Tenten, "How can you be so calm about this?!"

"Because he already knew." surmised a very bored Shikamaru.

"So… doe that mean Neji's the father?" a puzzled Ino asked.

"WHAT?! OH NEJI, HOW COULD YOU STEAL OUR PRECIOUS FLOWER'S INNOCENCE? WHAT WILL GAI-SENSI THINK?" Lee exclaimed as he ran off crying…

"Way to go Hyuga, and here I thought you were gay." said a grinning Kiba. Though this only granted him a death glare from our favorite white eyed ninja.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" yelled Sakura. "Can't you see our friend is going through a traumatic experience… I think we should leave these two alone, so they can talk."

"If we leave them alone, Tenten might kill Neji…" Naruto muttered. "but better him then me… bye." he added; seeing the deadly glare from the bun-haired kunoichi., With that, Naruto ran off in the same direction Lee left earlier.

* * *

After everyone else said their goodbyes, Tenten stood quietly looking down at the ground. Her earlier rage and confusion slowly evaporating, she no longer had the courage to look Neji in the eyes. Those eyes that saw everything. Though she'd blamed him earlier, she knew that it took two, so she couldn't blame him entirely. Tenten felt like the whole world was crumbling under her. All her hopes and dreams vanishing before her very eyes, and what's more, she was going to be an unwed mother. Though Tenten never really cared about what other people thought of her (after all, if she did, she would have been more like the other girls instead of the tomboy that she was). Still, even if she didn't care about other people's opinions, it didn't mean she wanted to be talked about. And this was certainly going to big gossip in the streets of Konoha. Especially since no one had known that she and Neji had been dating since they were genin.

True, they'd always been close, and everyone could see that. But because Neji was always so cold and distant, and Tenten had always seemed like the typical tomboy who didn't care about guys, no one suspected that they were actually in love with one another. And that had been the way they wanted to keep it. They wanted their relationship to be just theirs. But now… with a baby growing in her womb, soon everyone would find out about them. Or worst, they'd assume that Tenten was some cheap floozy (**7**).

What option did she have?... Tenten couldn't give up the baby. Even if it were unplanned, it didn't mean Tenten could get rid of it. No, she'd always longed for a family. She definitely couldn't allow for this baby to grow up an orphan like she did, and an abortion was out of the question. Besides, this wasn't just any baby, this was _Neji's_ baby. And she loved Neji more than anything in the world, which meant she'd surely love his baby just as much. But she didn't want to put it through the pain of whispering villagers talking behind its back, and shunning it because it was conceived out of wedlock. So what could so did?...

* * *

Neji watched as Tenten's expression changed from angry, to sad, to confused, to happy, to determined, and everything in between. He knew her well enough to know exactly what she was thinking, and wanted her to decide on her own what she wanted to do. But he had already made up his mind.

"What am I going to do, Neji?" Tenten said in a small voice.

"Tenten…" Neji began

"I can't have a baby." Tenten continued.

"Tenten…" Neji called out again.

"I'm only 17" Tenten still didn't hear him.

"Tenten…" Neji's patience began to wear thin.

"What about my dream of becoming the next Tsunade?" Tenten moped.

"Tenten…" Neji inhaled deeply; growing tired with her inattentiveness.

"But I can't just give him up either." Tenten reasoned.

"Ten… him?" Neji looked at her questioningly.

"huh?..." Tenten looked up the face the prodigy.

"What makes you think it will be a He?" Neji asked.

"I don't know, I just… I don't know" Tenten shrugged.

"Tenten!" sighing, Neji took hold of her hand.

"What?!" exclaimed Tenten.

"Marry me."

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

(**1**) I had apparently done a Sakura vs. Inner Sakura moment at the beginning... and while it's fine with Sakura, I usually hate the "inner" plots because they seem so random... yet here I actually started my very first FF submission with one... who knew?

(**2**) In the original, it was Shika who said that, but since I changed it to Choji in HNJ, I figured I'd change it here to fit the two stories together better...

(**3**) The companion story (Henge no Jutsu) deals with what happened during the boy's "switch".

(**4**) no, that's not OCC because remember, Naruto is Neji… so while Neji would never show any emotion, Naruto isn't as cool and collected… but back to the show…

(**5**) I tired to sound as Lee-like as I could, but he's just weird… but then, that's why we love him… lol

(**6**) Because Hinata would never yell.

(**7**) I was going to say slut, but I hate the word, and floozy just sounds funny… lol


	2. Marry Me

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**"MARRY ME"**

* * *

"_Marry me."_

A stunned Tenten stood motionless before the love of her life. She wanted this more than anything in the world. Yet… here was Neji asking her to be his wife, and all she could do was stare.

As Neji stood there patiently waiting for his beloved's reply, he allowed his thoughts to wander. He knew that he loved Tenten, and that Tenten loved him. In his heart he knew that this was what he wanted. It wasn't because of the baby; that just made him more certain it was the right thing to do, because finally, he would have the family he too, always longed for.

But more than anything, he wanted to marry Tenten because he needed her. Over the years he had grown closer to Hinata, and even Hashi and Hanabi. And though he no longer held a grudge against the main house, he still felt like an outsider in the Hyuga home; it wasn't the warmest place to be. But when he was with Tenten, he felt… happy… He felt loved. And more than anything, he wanted to be with her.

"NO!" yelled a visibly shaken Tenten, jarring Neji out of his thoughts.

If it had been anybody but Neji, there would have been a shocked and distraught expression on his pale face. But no, this was Hyuga Neji; he stood there calm and collected. But on the inside, he felt like his heart had been gripped by a cold hand and crushed until it shattered into a million pieces. He could scarcely breath.

"Hn." That was his pride speaking. Neji was very tempted to leave right there, lest he should break down for the very first time and weep like a lonely child. But instead he decided that he needed to know why. He would suffer the blow to his pride and confront the woman who had just broken his heart.

"Why?" was the only word Neji felt comfortable enough to ask. Anything more, and his voice might break, revealing the pain within him.

Tenten just stood there, playing with her hands, like Hinata used to do when she was nervous. She couldn't bring herself to face Neji, because if she did, she was sure she'd break down.

An awkward silence fell between the two lovers. Finally Tenten couldn't take it anymore and turned away to leave. But before she could take one step, Neji grabbed hold of her left wrist.

"Tenten." The stoic Hyuga called her. Though the name came out of his lips in his usual even tone, there was a pleading in his voice that only Tenten could have caught. It made her heart stop, and she finally turned around toward him, but still she couldn't look into his face.

"Neji." the name hung loosely in midair as the Weapons Mistress attempted to collect herself.

"Tell me what you are thinking Tenten." It wasn't a request, it was a demand. Still Tenten could hear the pleading in his voice.

"I can't marry you, Neji." she replied solemnly.

"Why?" asked a distraught Neji; though none would know it to look upon him.

"Because you don't really want to marry me, Neji. And a baby is a terrible reason for two people to get married. It can only lead to misery and resentment, and I won't put a child through that!" she firmly replied; though there was sorrow evident in her tone.

Neji was stunned by the words that left Tenten's lips. Relief swept over him; she wasn't rejecting him. She was afraid that he only wanted to marry her because of the baby.

"You're wrong Tenten." Neji replied.

Tenten looked up, to face the prodigy, a questioning look on her face.

"I love you." Though they had been together for years now, it was the first time that Neji had ever uttered those three words.

She'd gotten used to his cold distance, assuming that he just wasn't the type to share his emotions. He never held her hand, never told her he loved her, never complimented her, except to say that she had improved in her fighting. It just wasn't Neji to say those kinds of things, and she had learned to accept that.

It wasn't that Neji didn't show her that he cared. He was always there when she needed him. Whenever she was sick, he would be there to help her get better. He protected her when they were in battle; just as she guarded his blind spot. He held her in his arms when she was cold. He kissed her passionately when they made love. And from time to time, he even smiled; but only ever with her.

He did love her; maybe almost as much as she loved him, but to hear him actually say those words made Tenten's heart soar.

"Neji…" Tenten began.

"Tenten. I love you, and I want to marry you." Neji interrupted. "I could never resent you. I want to be with you." With that, he pulled her towards him and embraced her with all his strength. He never wanted to let go of her.

* * *

"Oh.My.Gawd. I can't believe Tenten is pregnant." said a stunned Kiba.

"I can't believe Neji's the father!" said an even more shocked Ino.

"They were always close, but he never seemed to be interested in her as more than a training partner." added a confused Sakura.

"That's not true." Hinata disagreed, " Neji-nii-san has always been very warm and caring towards Tenten-san."

"That's true," agreed Shikamaru, "and he's always been very overprotective of her as well."

"Yeah, remember the time that civilian asked Tenten out on a date, and Neji nearly beat the guy to a bloody pulp the next time he saw him?" said Choji, as he munched on a freshly opened bag of chips.

"Exactly." Shikamaru stated, "Neji's been jealous of any guy who came up to Tenten, the seven of us are really the only guys that Neji lets anywhere near Tenten. Well except for Kiba, but nobody lets Kiba anywhere near their girl, considering he'll flirt with every girl in Konoha, regardless of how stupid it may be to flirt with a girl whose 'very jealous, much-more-powerful-than-him boyfriend' is standing right next to her."

"Hey!" protested Kiba "I'm not scared of Neji!"

"So you knew that Tenten and Neji were dating?!" Ino asked, ignoring Kiba's protest.

"Of course. They don't call me a genius for nothing." Shikamaru stated matter-of-factly.

"I wonder what they're going to do." Sakura pondered.

"He'll marry her." The quiet Shino stated.

"It's the honorable thing to do" added Sasuke.

The rest of the group looked upon the two with saucer sized eyes. (except for Shikamaru who was lazily looking up at the moon, silently agree with his two normally silent friends.)

"But their so young!" Ino exclaimed.

"They're old enough to be having a child together." Shino pointed out.

"That's true but…" Sakura began.

"Hyuga would never allow his child to be born out of wedlock, it would tarnish the reputation of his clan." Sasuke interrupted; understanding the intricate politics of belong to an elite clan.

"Won't that happen anyway?" asked Choji, as he finished the last chip in his bag.

"Probably, but it shouldn't be so bad for the child, if it's protected by the Hyuga name." said Shikamaru.

"Hey, Shikamaru." Naruto finally spoke up, once Sakura was finished healing the few wounds that Tenten had inflicted on him in the forest. "What did you mean when you said that Neji already knew that Tenten was pregnant?"

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *


	3. He Knew

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**HE KNEW**

* * *

"You knew?" Tenten asked Neji as they sat on the couch in her tiny apartment.

They had been talking for hours about what the future had in store for them now. There were still a lot of conflicts that would likely arise, but at the moment, all they needed to know was that they loved each other and would be there for one another.

"Hai" was the Hyuga's reply, as he looked deeply into his beloved's big brown eyes.

"How?" she asked, trying to find the answer to that question within the white orbs that stared back at her.

* * *

"So you knew all along that Tenten was pregnant?" Ino asked a sleepy looking Shikamaru, as the gang (**1**) listened in, all eager to know the reply to the blond's question.

"Well, not exactly." Shikamaru began. "I knew something was up because Neji usually prefers to train with Tenten then hanging with us guys, but lately he'd been spending more time with us."

"That's it? What if they were just fighting?" asked Choji, "You and Ino fight all the time, and our training gets cancelled." He observed.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" shouted Ino.

"Yes it is." Shikamaru responded, brushing off the angry look coming from his teammate. "Besides… that's not how I knew that he knew."

"Oh, then how did you know?" asked Sakura, who up until this point had been trying to figure it out her self, if there had been signs she had missed. It was bad enough her female intuition missed that Tenten and Neji were dating, but as a med-nin, how could she have missed, for two whole months, that fact that Tenten was pregnant?

"He wasn't surprised." Sasuke answered for Shikamaru. Though this had been an eventful day, Sasuke was starting to get irritated with all this talk, and wanted nothing more then to hurry it along and leave.

"That's right." replied Shikamaru, "Even an ice cube like Neji would have freaked out about news like that."

"That's true…" Naruto said, thoughtfully. He knew from his own experience in all this that HE had definitely freaked out when Tenten had told him that she was pregnant. True, he didn't know at the time that she was telling him (disguised as Neji) because she thought she was telling 'the father', but Naruto had still been freaked out by the announcement alone. And it didn't make it any less shocking when Tenten began to throw weapons at him for not responding.

_'Come to think of it, why didn't she throw weapons at Neji when HE didn't respond? THAT's not fair!_' the loudmouth shinobi thought angrily.

"Which could only lead to the conclusion that Neji had already had time to digest the information." a normally silent Shino observed.

"Exactly." Shikamaru agreed.

* * *

Neji watched as his beautiful fiancé slept cuddled in his arms. She'd had a long and eventful afternoon the day before.

She looked beautiful when she slept. Neji never understood why everyone referred to her as tomboyish. True, she tended to prefer training over chasing boys and shopping and make up, but she didn't exactly dress like a boy, and she didn't act like a boy; and she definitely didn't _look _like a boy.

Ever since the day Neji first met her at the academy, he always thought she had a glow to her. She was always happy, always laughing, always talking. She made friends rather easily too.

* * *

_FLASH BACK_

* * *

The day Neji met Tenten, she had been playing hide-and-go seek with a group of her friends. They said they were practicing their stealth and searching skills, but Neji thought it was just an excuse to goof off; plus he figured it would be too easy with his Byakugan, so he had declined the invitation to join them.

Instead of playing with the other children of the academy, Neji decided to sit under a tree and meditate until the teacher called them in to continue their studies. It was only a few minutes into the game, when everyone was finding places to hide, that Neji heard a twig snap on the other side of the tree.

The tree he was sitting under was rather wide. Whoever was on the other side certainly wouldn't have spotted him meditating on his side. But it annoyed Neji immensely, that one of his irritating classmates had made their way over to his side of the playground, especially when he had gone out of his way to avoid being disturbed by them.

He debated whether or not to ignore the intruder, or beat the crap out of whoever dared disturb the great Hyuga prodigy. He didn't have time to decide before he heard a giggle rising up into the tree. At first he was convinced it was angels singing from the heavens, but he immediately shook the thought and berated himself for allowing such frivolous daydreams.

It was at that moment, when something fell on him. Or rather, fell from the tree, nearly hitting him before he quickly dodged it. It was a kunai; an ugly, old, rusted kunai. Neji picked it up and examined it. There was nothing special about it. It looked perfectly worthless, and he determined that it would be useless on the battle field; possibly not even very good for training either. He was so deep in through, that he barely had time to notice a hand reaching out to snatch the old kunai from his hands.

Neji looked up at the hand that gently covered the kunai he held in his hands. It belonged to a girl about his age, wearing a bright pink Chinese top, with two light yellow dragons' embroidered onto the sides, and a pair of black capris. He also noticed that she wore her hair in an unusual way, but what caught his attention the most was the smile on her face. No one in the Hyuga house smiled, except for his cousin Hinata; though she usually hid her smile behind her hand. But it was nothing like the smile he saw on this little girl's face. It practically shone with a radiance rivaled only by the sun itself. For a moment, Neji almost wondered if his earlier assumption had been correct and she WAS an angel.

It was at that moment that Neji fell in love with Tenten. He didn't realize it at the time, but he knew there was something special about her.

* * *

_END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

(**1**) minus one Lee, and of course Neji and Tenten


	4. Gai's Interference

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**GAI'S INTERFERENCE **

* * *

"NEJI, HOW COULD YOU?!" rang the voice of a certain weapon's mistress and Hyuga prodigy's former sensei through the small apartment where the two currently laid sleeping in bed together.

* * *

"It's nice to see you show up _only_ half an hour late, Kakashi!" the fifth Hokage said sarcastically, "Guess having Itsu around has made you a little more punctual." (**1**).

"I was on my way here this morning when…" Kakashi began.

"Don't even start with me!" Tsunade interpreted the rehearsed excuse. "This is a very important mission, and I'm trusting the three of you with it because you've proven to work very well as a team. Kakashi, I was going to put you as team leader, but if you can't handle the simple task of showing up on time for a mission briefing…"

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" yelled Gai as he stormed into the Hokage's office, dragging two very disheveled and underdressed young jonin along with him; followed closely by a younger clone of himself.

"What is the meaning of this?!" asked an even more ticked off Tsunade.

It was bad enough that the Akatsuki were creating more problems lately, and that one of her best shinobi wouldn't give her the respect she deserved, but now here was Gai rushing into her office pulling two of his former student's, who were struggling to free themselves from his grasp, along with him. (**2**)

"I AM AFRAID I HAVE HORRIBLE NEWS. I HAVE JUST COME FROM YOUNG TENTEN-SAN'S APARTMENT, WHERE I FOUND, MY ONCE HONORABLE STUDENT, NEJI-KUN, DEFILING OUR MOST PRECIOUS FLOWER." A tearful Gai explained.

Neji began to slightly twitch at the choice of words that came out of his former sensei's mouth, while Kakashi and Genma smirked and inwardly congratulated the Hyuga prodigy.

"Nothing happened!" Neji and Tenten yelled out at the same time.

"YOSH! MAYBE NOT THIS TIME, BUT WHAT ABOUT WHAT NARUTO TOLD US YESTERDAY?" questioned a tearful Lee.

"What did he say?" asked Genma, very interested in the story that lay behind this hilarious scene before him.

"That's none of your business Lee!" the normally cool and collected Neji scolded his old friend.

"BUT IT IS, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee proclaimed, "AND I SHALL FIGHT YOU TO DEFEND OUR PRECIOUS FLOWER'S HONOR!"

"Hn." was Neji's only reply.

"You don't have to do that, Lee." said an exhausted and somewhat embarrassed Tenten.

This wasn't exactly the conversation she wanted to be having, especially not in front of people who had no business knowing what had occurred the night before. Neji and Tenten had planned on coming to the Hokage to ask for her advice on how to resolve the inevitable conflict that their situation would likely cause, not only in the village, but with the Hyuga clan in general. But their plans had NOT involved telling two of the most perverted shinobi in Konoha, or the most overdramatic shinobi ever. (**3**)

"What is this all about?" a calm and rational, silver haired jonin asked (**4**).

The room was quite for a moment. Neji waiting for Tenten's reply to that question; he didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do, and if she didn't want to tell them yet, he wasn't going to make her. Tenten was debating on whether or not she should tell them all now, or wait until Neji and she were alone with the Hokage, as they had originally planned to do. She suddenly felt a strong hand gently squeeze her hand, and she felt confident enough to just get it over with.

"TENTEN-CHAN IS PREGNANT!" Lee informed the room, beating Tenten to the punch.

The flames of rage in Gai's eyes burned brighter, as the faces of the rest of those present fell in disbelief and shock.

Finally the Hokage spoke. "Is this true Tenten?" asked Tsunade.

"H-Hai" Tenten replied, nodding her head up and down quickly.

"And I take it Neji is the father?"Tsunade inquired .

"Hai!" replied an unshaken Neji.

"And you're sure about this?" Tsunade asked; referring to the pregnancy.

"Sakura told me." answered Tenten, "she said it came up on the blood test I took a short while back."

"I see." said a stunned Tsunade.

This was indeed a crisis. It wasn't only that the two were far too young, both still in their teens. It wasn't even that they were not married. It wasn't even all that much that they were from two different social classes in the village. It was that Neji was a Hyuga. And more than that, at the rate he had been going, he might become the HEAD of the Hyuga clan, the first time any branch member ever reached that merit. But now…

"This complicates things." Tsunade stated.

"We are aware of this." Neji responded.

"It's going to be difficult." Tsunade told the two.

"We know." Tenten replied.

"And have you thought of what you will do?" Tsunade inquired.

"We want you to marry us." Neji stated without batting an eye.

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

**A/N**:

(**1**) I was going to cut out the "Itsu" bit... but I decided to keep it because I kept it in the companion story... just the same... it doesn't make much of a difference... it's just an OC from a different story by that name.

(**2**) Kakashi

(**3**) Kakashi, Genma, and Gai respectively.

(**4**) Originally that was meant to be Itsu, but if you want to think it's Kakashi, that's fine too


	5. Hyuga

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**HYUGA**

* * *

Tenten looked at herself in the full length mirror and smiled. She looked beautiful that day. But all brides looked beautiful on their wedding day, right? Her dress was a full length white kimono, with slits on both sides extending to just above her knees. Lavender flowers adorned the silk, wrapping around twin dragons that gently hugged each side of the dress.

Her hair was out of its usual style of twin buns resting on either side of her head; instead, it flowed off her head in soft curls, reaching the middle of her back. Sakura and Ino had done her makeup, very light and natural, highlighting her natural glow, yet at the same time adding intensity to her features, contrasting the softness of her curls. (**1**).

The lavender tinted rose bouquet she held, matched her kimono perfectly. She couldn't help but smile at how well the color also matched her lover's eyes. Her mind drifted to the man who had fought for her, who had given up everything for her. It had hurt her deeply to think of how much he had lost for her.

It had taken a lot to convince the Godaime Hokage to help them with the impending Hyuga problem. After the initial shock, and Tsunade's insistence that they retest Tenten to make sure she really was pregnant, Tsunade relented. Everyone knew it would be unpleasant. The Hyuga's weren't exactly known for their fairness and understanding.

The elders had been FURIOUS. Neji was the pride of the Hyuga clan. They refused to allow a commoner, with no family, no surname, no special blood limit, nothing AT ALL to offer, to wed their prodigy. Surprisingly, along with the Hokage, the Hyuga clan head had also spoken out in favor of the couple. At first, Hashi had agreed with the clan elders, but upon realizing that it was love that bound the two together, and not merely the child that was to be born, Hashi argued their case to the elders.

It was common knowledge that Neji had been on the verge of becoming the next clan head; a feat that was unheard of in Hyuga history, something which the Hyuga head had come up with, in hopes of strengthening the Hyuga clan. However, the elders had been against it from the beginning. It was against all known Hyuga law that anyone other than the first born heir to the main house be named head of the clan. Hinata had been a disappointment to many, but she was still the heir.

After much arguing and debate, it was settled that Neji and Tenten would be married, but that Neji would have to give up any claim he had at becoming head of the Hyuga clan, and Hinata would be reinstates as the next in line, as tradition would have it be. Hashi had been disappointed that the elders had had their own way in the end, but for once, he thought of what was best for his nephew.

They had, over the years become close. Their relationship was no longer that of main house and branch house, nor even merely that of uncle and nephew. Hashi had grown to love Neji as the son he never had. Not only because he was a prodigy, but because he was his twin brother's son, and despite their differences, Hashi had loved his brother.

"Tenten," said a man's voice behind her, "you look beautiful."

Tenten turned around to see Neji. The generally stoic Hyuga smiled sweetly at the woman he loved. His lavender eyes shone with happiness.

"Get out NEJI!" Tenten shrieked as she hid behind the mirror, "You're not supposed to be here. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." she explained.

Neji just stood smirking, amused at his beloved's superstitious nature. Even if for a long time Neji had believed in fate and destiny, he had never quite understood the concept of superstitions. Still, he found it cute that she believed these things.

"Don't mock me Hyuga!" Tenten said from behind the mirror, as if reading his thoughts.

"Hn." Neji continued smirking, "You know…" he paused mischievously.

"What…" Tenten asked after a short pause.

"I'll be able to call _you_ Hyuga when _I'm_ cross too, now." A smug Neji replied thoughtfully.

"Oh shut up Neji," Tenten replied, throwing her bouquet at a retreating Neji, who easily caught it and placed it on a side table as he walked out of the room.

_Hyuga…_ Tenten smiled at the thought.

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

(1) Originally it had been Itsu, but I decided to minimize the important of that OC in this story so I just switched it to Sakura and Ino.


	6. Waiting

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**WAITING**

* * *

The guests were all seated, waiting patiently for the bride's arrival. The groom stood calmly before the audience. The youth obsessed boy, who had been Neji's best friend since their genin days, anxiously awaited his sensei and former teammate's entrance into the great hall where the wedding was taking place.

The room was decorated elegantly simple, as was the Hyuga way. There were not many in attendance. The guest list was primarily made up of a small number of the bride and groom's friends, consisting mainly of the rookie nine and their sensei's, and the Hyuga clan.

"Neji-san" Lee whispered over at his ever cool and composed former teammate, who stood next to him. (**1**)

"Hn?" was the stoic Hyuga's reply, as he continued to watch the twin doors that would open at any moment to revel his future bride.

"Why is Gai-sensei walking Tenten down the aisle?" asked a rather confused Lee.

That got the genius' attention, resulting in Neji turning his gaze away from the door to face his old friend while raising an eyebrow in a questioning look.

"It's just…" Lee began, "I thought it was supposed to be a family member who gave away the bride."

"Tenten is an orphan." Neji replied without blinking an eye, and then returned to watching the doors.

"Oh." replied Lee, though he was still uncertain as to why that meant that Gai-sensei had to give Tenten away.

Sensing his dense teammate's confusion, Neji explained "Tenten does not have a family; therefore she does not have a father to give her away. Gai-sensei is the closet thing to a father that she does have, which is why HE is the one who is walking her down the aisle."

Neji looked over at his friend, watching him digest that information.

"Do you understand now?" Neji asked.

"Hai!" Lee cheerfully replied.

Neji returned his attention to the wooden doors, decorated in lavender ribbons and flowers.

"Neji-san." Lee began again.

"Hn?"

"Why doesn't Tenten have a family?" Lee asked, feeling great sadness at the thought. (**2**).

"I don't know Lee." replied Neji, growing increasingly impatient and irritated with his former teammate.

"It's just…" Lee thought, "It's so sad. Tenten has no mother, no father, no brothers, no sisters, no uncles, no aunts, no cousins, no grand…"

"Lee!" Neji interrupted.

"What Neji-san?" Lee asked, as he wiped away a tear.

"You've known this for a long time." Neji responded.

"I-I know." Lee said, trying to hold back the tears, "B-but, I never thought about how sad and lonely our precious flower must have felt."

"…" Neji thought about this. He too had never considered how lonely it must have been to be in Tenten's place. Neji had always felt rather lonesome himself, having lost the only family he ever cared about when he was young. But even then, he had the other members of his extended family, and he knew where he came from. Tenten had not had that luxury. She did not know who her family was; or where they came from. She didn't even know her family name.

"Oh, Neji-san. How her youth must have suffered." Lee cried, "to have no one. To be completely alone in the world." Lee began to bawl like a baby at the thought.

"It doesn't matter." Neji replied.

"H-h-how can you say that, Neji-san?" Lee asked in between tears and hiccups.

"Because." Neji stated. "Now she has me."

Just then the two intricately carved wooden doors at the other end of the hall, which Neji had memorized to the very last grain of wood, slowly opened. The music began to play softly as the blushing bride and her former sensei walked arm in arm.

Rivers of tears ran down both Gai and Lee's face. The guest stood; all in awe at how beautiful and radiant Tenten looked.

All the while, Neji watched as the love of his life came closer and closer towards him; closer and closer to becoming his wife, his family. As the two approached, Neji thought about what Lee had said.

_'And now I have her too.'_

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

(**1**) two things. 1. Lee is Neji's best man, so he's standing right up there with him, and 2. this is a wedding so even the loud and 'youthful' Lee knows he has to tone it down… lol

(**2**) see, I told you all he was dense… lol… how long have they been friends and he just realized that being an orphan means you have no family?


	7. Wedding

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**WEDDING**

* * *

"Dearly beloved, are all gathered here today…" Tsunade began.

Neji watched his beautiful bride as the ceremony began. He could hear the hokage speaking, he could hear the murmurs in the crowd of those present; he could even hear the shrieks of shock and sorrow coming from the fan girls outside the hall. But none of this seemed to matter at the moment.

All Neji could think of, was how beautiful Tenten looked. He had caught a glimpse of her early, when he had snuck past the other kunoichi outside of Tenten's changing room. Looking at her now, Neji couldn't help but smile inwardly. He had loved her for so long; he couldn't even remember when it started.

* * *

_FLASH BACK_

* * *

The day Tenten smiled at him, (for that was how Neji liked to remember that day), he had been so effected, that he had been unable to remove the bun haired girl from his mind. Try as he might, he could not shake the sound of her laughter or the image of her radiant smile from his mind. On several occasions that day, and well into the night, he had almost caught himself smiling at the memory of the girl he had mistakenly taken for an angel.

All throughout class, Neji could not focus on what the teacher had been saying. He often found himself glancing over towards the girl that had captivated him. There was something about her; he just didn't know what. He hadn't seen her before, and he wasn't sure why. All the girls were always chasing after him. Reluctantly, he had come to know each of their faces; though he could care less about any of them. He had merely made a point of knowing them, so that he knew which he needed to stay away from; which was generally all of them. But this Tenten... he had never seen her in the groups that chased after him. He had been left wondering if she were new.

During lunch break, he took it upon himself to do a little investigation. He had discovered that she was in fact NOT new; she has started the school year with everyone else. He simply had not taken notice of her because she was not one of his many fan girls. She preferred weapons training to chasing boys.

Neji learned that she was an orphan, having lost her mother at birth and, recently her father, during a top ranked mission. Her father had been all the family she had, and fate had taken him away from her. Neji couldn't help but feel for the girl. He too, knew what it was like to be completely alone. True, he had the other Hyuga clan members, who were vast in number; but he still felt alone. He had no mother, no father; no one at all. They were the same. He wondered if perhaps that was why he had been drawn to her. If their common pain had somehow created a link between the two that Neji just could not understand.

The remainder of the day, he kept thinking about her. He remembered how he had felt upon the death of his father; how he **still** felt. But then he remembered her smile, her laughter. How could someone be **that** happy when they were all alone? Neji was certain that it had to be an act. He was convinced that on the inside, she was as pained as he was, and he decided that he would do something about it.

The next day, an unusually timid Neji walked up to a smiling Tenten during their lunch break. She had been sitting alone, up on a low branch of the same tree where the two had met the previous day.

"Did you need something?" asked a cheerful Tenten as she jumped down from her spot on the tree.

"Aren't you eating with the other kids?" Neji asked, noticing she did not have a lunch with her.

"I woke up late and forgot to bring a lunch today" Tenten replied, staring off into the trees as she said that.

"Oh" Neji had been about to ask how it was possible to forget ones lunch, when he realized it was probably because she hadn't had time to make the lunch herself that she had forgotten to bring any. He had felt very lucky then, that even though he had no mother to make his lunch, he did have the Hyuga maids to prepare all his meals.

"Was that all?" Tenten asked, now looking into the young Hyuga's eyes.

"No…" Neji quietly replied, slowly reaching into his pouch as Tenten waited patiently for him to continue.

"Here." Neji said, shoving a small package into Tenten's tiny hands.

Tenten looked at the package she held, then at the boy who had given it to her. She gave him a questioning look, which was met with an emotionless stare, but behind that, Tenten could see a pleading in his eyes; asking her to open the elegantly wrapped box in her hands.

Tenten gently undid the sides of the package. She was half afraid it might blow up, but figured the boy had nothing against her so there was no reason for it to be an explosive. Still, it was odd for the normally antisocial Hyuga to talk to other people, much less give a complete stranger a gift. So Tenten wearily opened the package to revel the contents within. To her utter amazement, inside the small box she found the most beautiful kunai she had ever seen. It was lighter than she was accustomed to, clean and shiny, and had a dragon engraved on the side. It was the nicest gift she had ever received. She was speechless.

"It's to replace the old and rusted one you had yesterday." Neji explained, after the silence had become too awkward for even him to tolerate.

"Oh." Tenten let out a sad sigh, as she slowly pushed the box toward Neji; casting her eyes downward.

"Did you not like it?" Neji asked, slightly hurt by the gesture.

"No, it's beautiful" Tenten replied, looking up at Neji once more.

"Hn." Neji replied, not understanding why Tenten had decided to give him back his gift if she had, in fact, liked it.

"It's just…" Tenten began, casting her eyes down at the ground once more, "That kunai was my father's. I could never replace it."

"…" Finally understanding, Neji couldn't find the words to apologize for his thoughtlessness. He cursed himself for not having considered it.

Noticing the look on Neji's usually passive face, Tenten reached out to take the box back.

"But…perhaps it's time for that old kunai to retire," she said, as she took the box back. "Thank you Neji-kun" Tenten added, with a smile.

Afterwards, he had invited her to share his lunch with him; and though he had been the one to give her the kunia, Neji had felt at that moment like he had been the one to receive a gift each time she smiled at him during that lunch. (**1**)

* * *

_END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

"Do you Neji take Tenten – " Tsunade began wrapping up the ceremony.

"I do" Neji replied. Still somewhat lost in his memories; hardly realizing he had interrupted the Hokage.

"Fine." Tsunade sighed, forgiving the prodigy's enthusiasm. "Then by the power vested in me, as Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss the bride."

The two lovers moved closer together, leaning into each other in a soft, demure kiss. A light applaud ran through the hall; then suddenly, Neji wrapped an arm around Tenten and roguishly pulled her to him, deepening the kiss into a more passionate one.

Neji had never shown even a glimmer of emotion in public. No one, other than Tenten, had ever seen him smile, or laugh, or cry, or anything else. He was known by all for his cold emotionlessness; though Tenten knew the true Neji. But today was different. As he kissed his bride with pure abandon, he let down his wall of ice and showed the world (or at least all those present) that he loved her.

No one would ever doubt that the "stone-cold Hyuga" married Tenten for anything other than love.

* * *

**TBC...**

* * *

(**1**) In the original version, I ended the flashback after Tenten accepted the kunai... but I always wanted to fit in that Neji shared his lunch with Tenten, so in this edited version, I did. **XD**


	8. 6 Years Later

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**6 YEARS LATER**

* * *

"NEJIIIII!!" a sharp piercing scream ran through the Hyuga compound.

Neji's ears were ringing, having just been yelled in the ear by the woman lying next to him. _'What a way to wake up'._ He thought; unsure of what was wrong with his wife.

"What's wrong Tenten?" The Hyuga prodigy asked, rubbing his temples from the imminent headache he felt coming.

"Neji, look what time it is!" Tenten shrieked, as she jumped out of bed, rushing through the room as she dressed herself and pulled out clothes for her husband to wear.

"Hn." The confused Hyuga replied, watching his wife pull the covers off of him and throwing him a pair of robes.

"HURRY, HURRY, HURRY! Get up and get dressed Neji, FAST!" she pulled him out of bed, urging him to get dressed quickly.

"What's the rush?" Neji asked, still confused as to why his wife was running around like a madwoman.

"WHAT'S THE RUSH?!" Tenten asked incredulously, "NEJI! Have you forgotten what day today is?"

"…" In fact Neji HAD forgotten what day today was. He was fairly certain it wasn't Tenten's birthday, or their anniversary; there were no missions, so he was sure they weren't late for any briefings with the hokage. He had just come back from an ANBU mission the day before, but he wasn't set to debrief until noon, and it was only 7:45.

"OHMYGAWD! You forgot?!" Tenten stared at Neji, half shocked, half furious that he could forget something so important. And what's more, he was making her waste more time, and they were already late!

A soft knock at their bedroom door saved Neji from the harsh lecture Neji knew Tenten was preparing to launch at him, along with (most likely) a few kunai and shuriken she kept hidden in the top drawer of their dresser. The door slowly opened, and there stood a little boy dressed in his best Hyuga robes, holding on to Hinata's hand.

"Mommy, Daddy, Good morning!" The little boy cheerfully said, rushing over towards Neji to give him a hug. He hadn't seen his daddy come in the night before, so he was very excited to see him.

"Good morning Hizashi-chan." Neji replied, smiling down at his five year old son. (**1**)

"Good morning my little ray of sun." Tenten replied, having cooled down from her earlier rampage. (**2**)

"G-good morning Tenten-neechan; good morning Neji-niisan." Hinata quietly greeted the two from the doorway.

"Good morning Hinata." Tenten replied, smiling at her cousin-in-law.

"Good morning Hinata-sama" Neji replied.

"Hizashi-chan is ready." Hinata informed the pair.

_'Ready?_' Neji wondered. He wanted to ask out loud, but was certain that it would only cause trouble for him, so instead he said, "Arigato Hinata-sama."

"Yes daddy, I'm ready." The young Hyuga smiled up at his father. "Mommy? Is daddy going to come with us too?"

"Yes Hizashi-chan." Tenten replied, "But we have to go now, it's getting late."

"Okay." Hizashi smiled, making his way towards the door, "LET'S GO!" he shouted, pulling his father with him.

* * *

_…:a few minutes later:…_

* * *

In a very familiar courtyard with a very familiar swing in a far corner, Tenten, Neji, Hizashi, Hinata, Hanabi, Hiashi, and even Lee and Gai-sensei stood waiting for a bell to ring. This was a very BIG day; Hizashi's very first day of school at Konoha's ninja academy.

_'I can't believe I forgot'._ Neji berated himself, as he watched his wife hug their son, a single tear running down her cheek.

"Mommy... It's going to be okay." Hizashi whined.

"Don't worry Tenten-neechan, Hizashi-chan will be just fine." Hinata added. Hanabi nodded.

"YOSH! THAT'S RIGHT, HAZISHI-CHAN HAS NEJI-SAN'S YOUTHFUL GENIUS, AND TENTEN'S YOUTHFUL ENERGY." Lee exclaimed.

"THAT'S RIGHT LEE! HIZASHI-CHAN WILL DO VERY WELL, AND HE SHALL SHOW THE OTHER CHILDREN HIS YOUTHFUL HYUGA SPIRIT!" Gai-sensei agreed.

"Hn." Hiashi only nodded his head. It wasn't common for him to agree with the insane ramblings of the two green beasts of Konoha, but he knew for certain that his young nephew's son would be just fine.

"Have a good day son." Neji gave the young boy a hug, after prying Tenten off the boy, so he could line up with the other student's who were already getting ready to go in.

"Take care of mommy, daddy." Hizashi waved as he ran towards the line.

Yes. He was going to be just fine.

...His mother on the other hand... that was another story.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

(**1**) being NejixTen fans, I'm sure everyone knows who their son is named after…

(**2**) I know, sounds a little Lee/Gai-ish, but Hizashi literally means, "sunlight" or "rays of sun"


End file.
